Tuesday, November 27, 2018

Keeping up with...Family (Weekly Wrap 11/9 - 11/15)

Friday (11/9) Once again no one wanted to get up this morning when the alarms went off.  We are struggling to the finish line of this week.  I am hoping for some good sleep this weekend so we can reset and have a great week next week!  Adrian took AJ to school while I got ready to head to the church to sub for the preschool again.  Adrian was supposed to take the other boys to school and then head to work but Zak said he wasn't feeling well and convinced Adrian to let him stay home for the day.  I had a pretty light morning at the preschool since there were a lot of students out sick.  Then I headed over to West to sub as the music teacher for the afternoon.

When the day was over, Daniel met me in the class I was in and told me he had a great day.  He did great in his Veterans' Day assembly this morning and then was given his belt for safety patrol for the next few weeks.  He will be stationed in an area of the school to make sure kids are following the rules - he was born for this job!!  When we got home, we saw that Zak was feeling better and ready for a fun night.  Adrian and AJ got ready to head out for a weekend camping trip and I ran dinner over to a friend who is recovering from surgery.
After we had dinner, Adrian and AJ headed out for a cold, but hopefully fun, weekend of camping.  Daniel and Zak played Minecraft for a while and I got caught up on as much as I could around the house.  Then we watched some TV together before I brought them upstairs and got them settled in for a "slumber party" since Daniel will be sleeping with Zak since AJ is gone and Zak doesn't like to sleep alone.  When they finally went to bed, I got a little wine, got a little snack and watched some Housewives until it was time for me to go to bed too.

Saturday (11/10) Our day started earlier than I wanted it to when Zak came in around 6:30am to start our day.  The upside to being up that early was that I got a few things done before getting everyone ready to head out the door to go to the church for my Zumba class.  I was surprised with one of my Y students showing up for class and it was the best surprise!  We had a fun time dancing in class and got a great workout to start the weekend.  When class was over, I grabbed the boys and we headed home for the rest of the day.  They played video games, watched TV, did homework and played together while I worked around the house.  We took a few breaks to eat together, play a game of "Dixit" and watch "Journey to the Center of the Earth."  When they went to bed, I had more wine, snacks and Housewives.

While we were warm and cozy in the house all day, Adrian and AJ were outside most of the day at their camp out.  I got a few updates from Adrian during the day.  AJ got to shoot riffles, blow guns and a few other guns while working on a merit badge.  He also helped cook breakfast for his Troop this morning.  They are cold and tired but are having a good time.  I was happy to get some updates from them throughout the day!
 
Sunday (11/11) We had a rough night of sleep and both Daniel and Zak ended up in bed with me at different parts of the night.  None of us got enough sleep overnight but thankfully we all fell back asleep early and slept until almost 9am.  Unfortunately since we got up so late we missed the first service of church.  We had a bit of a slow morning just watching TV, playing video games and I enjoyed my coffee.  Then I started to get ready to head to my Zumba jam.  But then I heard from Adrian and he was going to be late getting back and it seemed too stressful so I decided to skip the jam and stay home with the family.

Adrian and AJ finally got home and AJ was super excited to tell me all about his camping trip.  He really enjoyed all of the shooting that he got to do and said the only bad part was the cold weather.  I'm glad they had so much fun!  But I could tell he was exhausted so we pretty much gave him the rest of the day off to rest.  Adrian and I worked around the house and watched the Red Zone network since the Jets game was horrible.  He did take all three boys to Martial Arts tonight since we've missed a bunch of classes, and all three did great but Zak was especially excited.
After they got home from class, we all had dinner and then finished up everything the boys needed to do for the weekend.  Then AJ asked us to play Monopoly so he and I played Monopoly Gamer together and he just barely beat me.  When we finished, they did their snack, show and bed routine and Adrian and I came down to finish a few things and settle in to watch the Cowboys game. He has tomorrow off so we pushed bedtime a little later than normal to watch the game. 

Monday (11/12) We enjoyed a little bit of extra sleep since Adrian is off today for Veteran's Day.  But since the boys still have school so we had to get up and get them ready and out the door.  Adrian drove AJ over to school while I got the other boys ready.  After we dropped them off, we had a nice breakfast of bacon and egg sandwiches and then headed out for a day date.  We went to Kohl's to start our Christmas shopping then headed to Easton for the rest of the day.  We went to Cooper's Hawk for a wine tasting and to pick up our back log of monthly bottles.  Then we walked around a little and did some window shopping before stopping at Flipside for burgers and fries for lunch.  After that, it was time to head back to reality and pick up the boys and head home to start our night activities.
We picked up the boys and then all came home to get ready.  We got thru homework and started getting ready for dinner when Daniel told us he didn't feel well. Since strep throat has been going around his hallway at school, we decided to be safe and stay home from small group tonight.  I was bummed to miss tacos and fellowship with my group, but it was the right decision.  Adrian took Zak to wrestling and I gave Daniel and AJ dinner and was going to take AJ to Scouts.  But he said he was really tired after the camping trip all weekend and asked to skip the meeting.  We decided that would be OK just this once, and were honestly a little excited about the lighter schedule for the night.  Adrian came home after wrestling and we all relaxed, watched some TV and then headed to bed for the night.  It was a great way to kick off our week!

Tuesday (11/13) We were back to our regular schedule today since Adrian had work today.  Thankfully Daniel was feeling fine so he was able to go to school and Adrian and I were both able to go to work.  Adrian took AJ to school and then headed into work for the day.  I got the other boys ready and then headed into the Harcum Center to teach my three Silver Sneakers classes.  When classes were done, I headed into Zak's classroom to volunteer and practice sight words with as many of the students as I was able to see.  They get so excited when I come in and they all want to show me how many words they can read.  When school was over, we picked up Daniel from his safety patrol post and headed home.  We quickly got thru homework and dinner and then I headed to the church to work at the front desk for a few hours.  I got home just in time to help with bedtime for the boys.  When they were done, we finished up a few things around the house and watched a few comedies before heading to bed for the night.

Wednesday (11/14) We all got up and moving on time again today.  Adrian drove AJ to school and I got the other boys ready and dropped off to school.  Since I was only subbing for a few hours in the middle of the day, I ran a bunch of errands and then headed into the school for a brief time subbing in the 3rd grade.  Then I had a few hours in the afternoon to get some stuff done around the house before everyone got home from school.  When we were all home, we got thru homework and dinner quickly before I headed out to the church to work as a facility rep for the night.  Adrian got home from work and took Zak to wrestling practice.  We all got home just in time for bedtime for the boys.  When they were settled, Adrian and I watched "Survivor" and then headed to bed as well.  It was a pretty typical mid-week day for us.

Thursday (11/15) We were woken up early and thrown off our schedule by getting the call that the schools were on a two hour delay.  Adrian needed to get into work so he left quickly and headed downtown.  He thankfully made it there safely and in pretty good time.  I hung out with the boys and had a lazy morning with them while trying to figure out how to juggle the rest of the day.  I had to cancel my first Silver Sneakers class of the day so I could get everyone to school on time.  When I had dropped them all off, I headed to Harcum and taught the second two classes for the day.  I hate to cancel classes but I also know the roads were super icy so it was the best decision for everyone.

After my classes were over, I headed into school to have Daniel's annual IEP meeting.  He's doing really well in speech and the goal is for him to be done with therapy at the end of this school year.  After the meeting, I picked up Zak and Daniel and we headed home.  Adrian texted to let me know he would be late so I was on my own for the night.  I got everyone thru homework and dinner and then we headed to the church for the night.  I taught my Zumba class while the boys were in childcare.  AJ headed into basketball when his practice started and the other boys & I joined him later.  We enjoyed watching him play, he did a great job!  He earned the coach's award for never complaining and playing his hardest today.  I was very proud of him!  When the game was over, we all headed home and got ready for bed.  I got the boys down and Adrian finally got home.  We watched a few comedies and headed to bed too.  It was a long "short" day and I'm not looking forward to a winter that is predicted to be cold and icy!

Monday, November 26, 2018

Keeping Up With...Food (Meal Plan for Nov 18 - Dec 1)

My last meal plan was two weeks ago.  I went back and forth last weekend whether I should write the post or not but then I honestly ran out of time and I didn't write it.  These two weeks are weird with the Thanksgiving holiday right in the middle.  Last week we mostly had leftovers to clean out the fridge to make room for all of the Thanksgiving food.  This week we are again mostly eating leftovers because we have so much food left over.

But I did make a lot of great dishes for Thanksgiving that I kind of wanted to share.  And we had my brother's family over for his birthday on Saturday so I cooked a lot again that day.  And this week I'm hosting my life group on Monday, making a delicious soup with my leftover turkey and possibly cooking a few other meals towards the end of the week.  We have multiple things going on this week so I'm trying to make easy meals with what I have on hand so I don't need to worry too much about cooking or shopping.  I'm hoping to get back to my normal planning and cooking schedule next week but honestly the whole next month is pretty crazy so we'll see what happens.

This meal plan will look a little different as I'm basically just sharing my recipes from the past two weeks.  Hopefully they will help someone who is looking for different sides for the upcoming holidays or even starting to think about next Thanksgiving.  I'm also using this to save my recipes for next year so I don't have to start all over again.  Hope you all enjoy this list of recipes!!

Thanksgiving Dinners:
Instant Pot Mac & Cheese for the youth group Thanksgiving
M&M Cookies for the youth group Thanksgiving - I used the recipe on the back on the Toll House chocolate chip bag & also added a bag of mini M&M's
Brussels Sprout Salad for my life group Thanksgiving
Oven Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Broccoli Casserole
Sausage Stuffing
Instant Pot Applesauce
Oreo Ice Cream Cake - with ice cream sandwiches, Oreo Cool Whip & Crushed cookies
Cheesecake - I omitted the cherries
 
This Week:
Peanut Butter Cake for my brother's birthday
Buffalo Chicken Dip
Homemade Pizza - can't share this recipe but we made cheese, pepperoni/sausage, sausage/peppers & a white pizza with ricotta and zucchini - so good!!
Mexican Layer Dip - a layer of each - refried beans, guacamole, sour cream, fajita seasoning, cheddar cheese, tomatoes & olives
White Chicken Chili
Slow Cooker Beef Chili - I can't find this online but I combine 2 cans of pinto beans, 2 cans of kidney beans, 1 lb of ground beef, 1 can of diced tomatoes, 1 pepper, 3 tbsp of chili powder, 1 tbsp of cumin, 1/3 cup of broth, 1.5 cups of corn & 1.5 cups on BBQ sauce in the slow cooker for about 6 hours on low.  It's delicious!!
Turkey Noodle Soup
Banana Chocolate Chip Bread
Beef and Spinach Rice Bowls - because I have a bag of spinach I have to use up
I think that's all I'll be cooking this week but we'll see how far that gets me.  We have some other vegetables that we may need to use up so if we need another meal, I'll be figuring out something to make with those.  We also have a bunch of stuffing left over so I may be cooking some kind of meat to eat with the stuffing as a side.

Saturday, November 24, 2018

Keeping up with...Family (Weekly Wrap 11/16 - 11/22)

Friday (11/16) We reached the end of another long week!  We woke up to a snow covering, but nothing on the roads so school was on as scheduled today.  Adrian took AJ to school and I got ready to head into school with the other boys for a full day of subbing.  I had a great day with an awesome second grade class including celebrating a birthday.  When school was over, I met up with Daniel and Zak and we headed home for the weekend.  The boys had some free time while I tried to gain control of the house.  Then we enjoyed tacos for dinner before heading out to Zak's wrestling practice.  Adrian was out at a board game event so it was just me and the 3 boys.  After practice, we stopped at Target for a birthday present for a party Daniel is going to tomorrow, then came home and started our nighttime routine.  After I got them down to bed, I finished getting the house under control and then settled in with some snacks and some Housewives before heading to bed.  I am exhausted after a long week!!
Saturday (11/17) Today started earlier than I wanted it to when my alarm went off but I had to get up and get the very busy day started.  I got ready and headed to church for my Zumba class, where I had a big crowd and we had a great time!  While I was there, Adrian got AJ ready for basketball pictures and brought him to the church for those.  I ran home and got a quick shower and got Zak ready to head out to Easton for his Cub Scout fundraiser.  We had a fun time selling candy bars with a few other boys from the pack and they did a great job!  The boys were so cute people were all sucked right in to buying the candy from them.
Our hour passed quickly and before we knew it, it was time to head to our next stop.  We met Adrian, AJ and Daniel at Math Plus for their Fortnight themed escape room.  While the boys were there, Adrian and I ran down the street for a quick lunch date at MOD pizza.  We really liked the pizza, and we are both pretty picky about our pizza.  We had fun designing our own pizza and then eating it!  The boys had fun at the escape room finishing it with 13 minutes remaining.  Adrian took Daniel from there to a birthday party while I took the other two and finally went home for the day.
Daniel had a great time at the birthday party and can't wait to go back over for a play date with this friend.  When we were all finally home, we were exhausted.  Adrian and I did a few things around the house while the boys played video games.  We finished up our plan for this week and Adrian watched the really close Buckeyes game.  We had a pretty laid back night and it was really nice after a full day.  After the boys went to bed, we finished up the night with some ice cream and some comedies from our DVR.

Sunday (11/18) I had a rough night of sleep since Zak came in around 4am and kicked me out of my bed and into his bed.  But thankfully we didn't have anything early today so I slept in a little and then had a lazy start to my morning.  I make bacon & egg sandwiches for breakfast before we headed out to second service at church.  It was a great service and we happily made our 3 year commitment to our church's capital campaign.  Now we have been challenged to take $10 of church money and multiply it towards the capital campaign.
When we got home from church, we got started on a few things around our the house.  Then Adrian took Zak out to get new shoes and a few small things we needed.  The afternoon passed quickly and soon it was time for the boys to head to Martial Arts.  Adrian took them and I got my food ready for Thanksgiving number 1 tonight.  I met AJ at the church where the youth group celebrated with the "Senior Saints" with delicious food, fun games and interesting conversations.  It was a great kick off to our Thanksgiving week.  When we got home, we did the boys' night time routine and got them down to bed.  Then Adrian and I finished up a few things, watched a comedy and headed to bed.  It's a short week but it's going to be a busy start!
Monday (11/19) We all got up and moving on time today for day one of a two day work week.  Adrian drove AJ to school and I got everyone else ready and out the door to school.  I subbed all day so I went in with Daniel and Zak.  I had a fairly easy day with a great 4th grade class and the day flew by.  After school was over, we headed home to get ready for our night.  Zak was supposed to have wrestling practice, but it cancelled last minute which made our night much easier.  I took Zak and Daniel and headed to my small group where we celebrated Thanksgiving together.  The food was great and we enjoyed some fun conversations.  Adrian took AJ to Scouts where he learned about camping in the winter.  When we all got home, Adrian had to log on to work so I got the boys in bed, finished up a few things and then headed to bed too.  Only one more day and then we have a long weekend!!

Tuesday (11/20) Last day of school for the week!  Since Adrian worked until 4 in the morning, I got up early and took AJ to school.  It messed up my morning routine a little, but I made it work.  After I dropped Daniel and Zak at school, I headed to Harcum to teach my three Silver Sneakers classes.  We all got great workouts before the holiday and had some good laughs.  The good news about Adrian working so late last night is that he only had to work a few hours today which he was able to do from home so he was able to do school pick ups this afternoon and I got to go finish all of my errands and grocery shopping.  I went to all four grocery stores, Krispy Kreme, Walmart and the bank and got home just in time for dinner.

When I got home, we quickly unloaded the car and put the stuff away.  Then we had a quick dinner and headed out to the movies to see "Ralph Breaks the Internet."  We all loved the movie!!  It was funny, for both kids & adults, well written, fast paced and had a great ending.  We love the Tuesday deals at Marcus, $5 movie and free popcorn, and will definitely be back for that soon.  When we got home, we got the boys ready for bed and Adrian went to bed as well since he was down sleep from the night before.  I stayed up and watched TV for a bit and then went to bed too since I was exhausted from a long day.  Happy to have very little to do the next few days!
Wednesday (11/21) First day of Thanksgiving break!  We all slept in a little this morning and then had a relaxing morning of coffee and donuts.  When we finished breakfast, we got ready and headed downtown to COSI for a few hours for AJ's pick of this week.  We went to the two special exhibits (Hot Wheels & Poison) and then checked out the dinosaurs.  It was a great few hours, we had fun and learned a few things too.  When we were done, we headed home and the boys played video games while Adrian and I did a few things around the house.  We also played Coconuts and a new game called Carcassonne.
 
We had a quick dinner of leftovers to make room in the fridge for tomorrow's feast.  Then we moved on to Zak's pick of the week, a family video game night.  We played Roblox together as a family, playing a few of the mini games like Meme Tycoon & Weight Lifting Simulator.  It seemed ridiculous to me and I was not very upset when my tablet ran out of battery and I had to quit.  But the boys had a blast and that was the point of the night.  When everyone was done, we watched Charlie Brown Thanksgiving together and then the boys headed to bed.  They are having a sleepover in the same room tonight.  When we got them settled, Adrian and I did all of the prep and most of the clean up for tomorrow.  Then we rested with a little wine and "Survivor" before heading to bed.


Thursday (11/22) Happy Thanksgiving!!  We were on our own this year so we decided to switch things up and do the holiday a little different this year.  We started by doing Daniel's pick for the week of having Grinch pancakes at IHOP for breakfast and then going to see the new Grinch movie.  We all enjoyed the breakfast, the pancakes are delicious!  The movie was OK, probably unnecessary but still a fun holiday film.  The boys really liked it, more than Adrian and I did.
After the movie, we came home for some relaxing, food and football.  Adrian and I watched the end of the Lions game while the boys played.  Then we all watched the parade together before watching the Cowboys game and enjoying a nice, if slightly smaller than usual, Thanksgiving dinner.  The boys did a nice job trying a few new things and everyone ate turkey without fighting.  After dinner, the boys played while we watched the end of the game and cleaned up from dinner.  We all enjoyed ice cream cake and cheesecake for dessert and then the boys headed to bed.  Adrian and I made our Christmas lists & discussed what we're buying for the boys so we were ready for the sales this weekend before heading to bed as well since it was a long day. 

Sunday, November 11, 2018

Keeping Up With...Food (Meal Plan for Nov 11 - Nov 17)

Last week felt like a super long week between adjusting to the time change, a day off for the boys on Tuesday and Zak staying home sick on Friday.  We also had a ton of new things added to our schedule including wrestling for Zak twice each week and Model UN for AJ after school once each week.  It was super busy but I still managed to mostly stick to my meal plan.  The only thing that changed was that I bought everything for meatball subs for tonight, including fresh bread, on Thursday.  The boys saw it and begged me to make them that night instead of waiting so since I had everything ready I made the switch.  I also got to use my new Ninja spiralizer for this meal and it is so fun!!  I can't wait to use it more!

This week is super busy again with something going on every night, including me working two nights this week.  Adrian will be out Friday night as well so most nights will be dinner in shifts.  I'm hoping we can stick to our plan for the week but we'll see how it goes.  Adrian also has Monday off so we'll be going out for the day, not sure if that will impact our plans for tomorrow night or not.  We've been bad about missing things we committed to so I'm hoping to refocus us this week and get everyone where they need to be.

Here's what we're eating this week:
Sunday - Italian Chicken Thighs and Veggies
Monday - Turkey Noodle Soup
Tuesday - Tacos for the boys, Enchilada Pie for Adrian and I
Wednesday - Leftovers
Thursday - Tilapia and Veggie Packs
Friday - Tortellini Veggie Bake
Saturday - Pork and Veggies

Water flavor - Mango because I got one on sale at Aldi this week

Overnight Oats - We ate just about all of them last week so I'll be starting from scratch today.  I think I'm going to do a double batch of peanut butter and a double batch of chocolate.  That will get us thru most of the week.  I will also probably do a double batch of plain just to be sure we are covered for the week.

Use It Up - I noticed as I was writing out the meals that I have a lot that are using "veggies."  Most of them are veggies that I have, but I will need to buy a few as well.  I'm using up leftover turkey, celery and carrots in the soup on Monday and broccoli in the packets on Thursday.  Other than that I'm mostly trying to get back to eating well and having a nice variety of food each week.

Lunches - I'll be having salad most days.  I made homemade ranch dressing and hard boiled eggs this weekend to use for lunches.  There will also be a lot of leftovers since there are a few nights that Adrian or I won't be eating dinner at home so I may take those one or two days as well.

Saturday, November 10, 2018

Keeping Up With...2018 Goals (Sept/Oct Recap & Nov Goals)

Remember how I was doing monthly goals and doing a blog post each month?  Yeah, me neither.  I'm only partly kidding about that!  Honestly September and October went by in a blur for us between activities, sickness, working more and Halloween.  I didn't have time to do my update at the end of September and by the time I had time to sit down and do an update, it was October 21st.  I decided to just combine the Sept and Oct recap and try to refocus for November.  Obviously since we're 10 days into Nov I'm not doing great with that plan either.   But I did make a bunch of notes on these goals the last week of October so I know what happened then.  I'm going to try to do the last two months on time and then figure out what I'm doing for next year.  I honestly can't believe 2018 is almost over!

To keep it completely honest, I haven't done great with my goals these past two months.  I have struggled to find a good groove between work, the boys' activities and housework.  I'm also struggling to keep up with my exercise routine because I gave up two classes so now I only teach 3 days each week.  And I'm not making time to get to any other classes during the week.  Unfortunately some of this won't get better with the holidays on the horizon as well as Adrian's busy season starting soon.  But I'm going to just keep doing the best that I can and keep trying to stay focused.  I think I'll jump right in and comment more specifically on each goal as we go.  As I did two months ago, I will talk a little about how I did with each of the 10 goals over the past 2 months and then talk about my plans for Nov to stay on track.

1. Lose 50 pounds (Lost 8 pounds this year, Grade for Sept/Oct: C)
  • Meal plan each Sunday - I did pretty good with meal planning, I did 8 posts out of 9 weeks.  The problem was sticking with the plan, I often pushed things for a week or two if I didn't feel like cooking.
  • Count calories for 26 days this month - I did horrible with this, I only tracked 28 days over the two months.  I just have not been motivated to stick with the healthy eating recently.  I do three or four days each week and then I don't track the rest. 
  • Go to four classes this month that I am not teaching - I actually did pretty good with this one.  I went to a jam in both Sept and Oct, I took three water aerobics classes and taught one, I taught Zumba Gold Toning twice, and I taught Yoga five times.  I enjoyed the variety I got and would really like to work on keeping that up.
  • Lose 6 lbs this month, the last 2 I gained last month & then 1 per week - I maintained over the two months.  All things considered, this is pretty good.  I'm now revising this goal and trying to not gain any weight this year.  Ideally, I'd like to lose 2 more pounds over the next 2 months and finish the year down 10 lbs.
2. Read 20 books again (Read 14 books this year, Grade for Sept/Oct: C)
  • Finish 2 books - I finished one book "First Comes Love."  Other than that I started a bunch but haven't been able to finish any.  I'm hoping they will come in from the library and I can knock a few off over the next few months.  I've read 20% of  "Beloved," 25% of "All I Ever Wanted" and 42% of "Bossypants."
  • Read 10% of  "The Beauty Myth" - I only read 7% in both months.  I'm really far behind on this goal.  Part of it was because I was waiting on it from the library, but the other part is when I have it checked out I'm not reading it as much as I should be.
3. Watch 25 50 movies (Watched 38 movies this year, Grade for Sept/Oct: C)
  • Watch 4 movies - We have watched 3 movies over the past two months "Wreck it Ralph," "Wonder Woman" and "Spaceballs."  A huge part of this is that we are just super busy right now with all of the boys' activities.  It became very stressful to try to watch a movie every weekend so we have shelved this goal for right now.
4. Go on 12 dates with Adrian (8 dates this year, Grade for Sept/Oct: A+)
  • Book our babysitter for a night so we can go out - We did not book our babysitter for a night out but we did manage to have two dates.  We went to lunch at First Watch one day while Adrian was home from work with a back injury.  And we had a stay home date day on Columbus Day since I was sick.  We had planned to go out for the day but I really needed to rest so we got take out, watched some TV and had some good conversation.
5. Pay off 1 credit card and my student loans (Grade for Sept/Oct: B+)
  • Help Adrian work at least 3 hours of OT each week - We did pretty good with this and Adrian finished with about 20 hours of overtime over the two months.  He missed an opportunity for it the one week that he hurt his back.  And he's having trouble getting a lot of overtime since he has to drive AJ to school each day now.  He doesn't get in until 8am and then often has to leave to help with their night activities.
  • Sub at least two days each week this month - I subbed the equivalent of about 10 days over the two months.  Again, I missed some opportunities because of people being sick (myself included).  I also missed some days because I had committed to sub group exercise classes.  I will probably not be subbing those classes as much, they limit when I can sub in the school.
  • Spend as little as possible - We did great controlling our spending over the two months and also got another credit card paid off.  Now we have a huge chuck going towards our next bill and will see that paid off very soon too.
6. Start my CEUs for Silver Sneakers and do the online training for water aerobics (Grade for Sept/Oct: B+)
  • Do the online Silver Sneakers Classic training - Done!
  • Do the online Silver Sneakers Circuit training - Done!
  • Do the online Silver Sneakers Water in Motion training - I didn't get time to do this but I did start taking some classes and even subbed a water class.  I feel like I'm on the right track!
7. Clean out the house (Grade for Sept/Oct: A+)
  • Clean out the spare room and turn it into Daniel's room - Done!  It looks great and is exactly what he wanted.  We still have to deal with that closet but for now we're ignoring that.
  • Clean out the garage so the van fits in it - Done!  I'm so thankful my van is in the garage now that it's cold in the mornings!
  • Clean out AJ & Zak's room - Almost done, just have to finish their closet.
8. Keep up an active blog (Grade for Sept/Oct: B+)
  • Meal plan posts every Sunday - I did 8 posts of the 9 Sundays in those two months.
  • Week in review posts every Friday - I was able to get all 8 posts done!!
  • Monthly goal posts the last day of the month - Obviously I totally missed this one last month but even though it's late I'm getting it done this month.
9. Play more board game (Grade for Sept/Oct: A+)
  • Have one family board game night - done!  We've had a few family game nights over the past two months.  And Adrian has been playing a lot with just the boys when I am working. 
10. Improve my classes (Grade for Sept/Oct: A+)
  • Attend one Zumba jam session - Done!  I did one in each month and am signed up for one in Nov.  If I can do the Dec one, I'll have done 12 jams in 12 months!
  • Start a new Silver Sneakers cardio class at the Harcum Center - Done!  And the students are loving the class.  I've started changing it up a bit and it's going great.
  • Start 2 new Zumba classes at Eastpointe Church - Done and it's going great!!  I have about 30 regular attenders for the classes, although the Thursday one is way more popular than the Saturday morning one.  It was a lot more work than I expected but I've finally found my groove and it's going along well now.
  • Do my water aerobics training online - Haven't gotten to this yet but will get there one day.
11.  Continue the family fun of the summer
  • Do one activity each week that one family member chooses - We did one choice for each person but it was getting super stressful so we tabled it after a few weeks.  We will just do activities when the boys are off from school to keep ourselves sane.
  • Watch one movie each week that one family member chooses - We lumped this in to the activities so if people wanted to do a movie one week that was fine.  Again, we just don't have time to watch a movie every weekend.
  • Keep up with school work as well - So far things are going amazing!  AJ and Daniel both got straight A's for the first quarter and Zak got great feedback as well.  AJ is active in basketball and Scouts and just joined Model UN at school.  Daniel had a great soccer season & is active in Martial Arts.  He was also selected as a member of the safety patrol for school.  Zak also had a great soccer season and is still active in Martial Arts and Boy Scouts.  He also just joined the school rec wrestling team which will think will be a great fit for him!
And here are my goals for Nov:

1. Lose 50 10 pounds
  • Meal plan each Sunday
  • Count calories for 21 days this month
  • Go to two classes this month that I am not teaching
  • Lose 1 pound this month
2. Read 20 books again
  • Finish 3 books - "Beloved," "All I Ever Wanted" and "Bossypants"
  • Read 10% of  "The Beauty Myth"
3. Watch 25 50 movies (Watched 38 movies this year, Grade for Sept/Oct: C)
  • Watch 3 movies
4. Go on 12 dates with Adrian
  • Go on two dates this month - seeing "Aladdin" and our rescheduled day date on Veteran's Day
5. Pay off 1 credit card and my student loans
  • Help Adrian work at least 3 hours of OT each week
  • Sub at least two days each week this month
  • Spend as little as possible
6. Start my CEUs for Silver Sneakers and do the online training for water aerobics
  • Do the online Silver Sneakers Chair Yoga training
  • Do the online Silver Sneakers Water in Motion training
7. Clean out the house
  • Clean out AJ & Zak's room
  • Clean out mine & Adrian's room
8. Keep up an active blog
  • Meal plan posts every Sunday
  • Week in review posts every Friday
  • Monthly goal posts the last day of the month
9. Play more board game
  • Have one family board game night
10. Improve my classes
  • Attend one Zumba jam session
  • Switch out the warm up part of my Silver Sneakers Classic class at Harcum
  • Switch out one song per week for the Circuit class and my Zumba classes

Friday, November 9, 2018

Keeping up with...Family (Weekly Wrap 11/2 - 11/8)

Friday (11/2) Today was almost as hard to get up and moving as yesterday except since it's Friday we're all excited for the weekend.  Adrian took AJ to school and I got everyone else ready.  We all headed into school together since I was subbing in Zak's class for the day.  I was a little nervous being with him all day but we had a great day together!  He is so much better behaved in school than he is at home.  I joked that I'm going to make him call me Mrs Jones at home and see if he behaves better.  While I was in school, I was lucky enough to have a break during Daniel's 1st quarter assembly.  He received awards for perfect attendance and straight A's and was SO excited to see me in the audience during the assembly.  It was a great day at school for us!
We got home and had some time to ourselves since AJ was at the after school dance party at his school.  He earned the right to go by having good behavior for the quarter and earning straight A's.  I picked him up when it was over and he told me he had a great time!!  He played with two friends, ate pizza and snacks and played a little bit of basketball.  We are so proud of how well he is doing in his first year of middle school!!
 
After we all got home, we had a quick dinner and then got ready for the night.  Adrian and I had a date night going out to see "Aladdin" the musical.  The boys had a great time staying home and playing games with their sitter.  Adrian and I loved the play - it was great!!  It was funny, followed the movie with just enough extras to make it interesting, the sets were amazing, the cast was great and Genie was hilarious!  I didn't think it would be that good, especially since the movie is one of my favorites, but it surpassed my expectations for sure.  And it was great to have some time alone with Adrian, it has been way too long.  When we got home, thankfully the boys were asleep.  I drove the sitter home, we watched a few comedies and then headed to bed too.
Saturday (11/3) Everyone was up early this morning, not sure why they didn't sleep in this weekend.  The boys started playing and I got ready to head to the church to teach Zumba.  We had a small but mighty class this morning and got a great workout.  After class I came home, got a quick shower, set up dinner and packed up lunch and snacks before heading back out to the church to work as a facility rep for the afternoon.  I got a lot done while I was there while the boys stayed home and got a few things done and watched the OSU game.  When I got home, we had dinner with my in-laws since they are leaving for Florida this week.  We enjoyed a delicious dinner and spending time together.  When they left, we got the boys down for the night hoping they will get an extra hour of sleep tonight.  Adrian and I watched a few comedies and then I was ready for bed so I headed up.  He stayed up to watch a few of the football games and then headed up later.  It wasn't a super exciting day but we needed a down day after all that has been going on.

Sunday (11/4) No extra hour of sleep for us, more like an extra hour of work.  The boys were up right around 7 as usual and Adrian and I got up around then too.  We had breakfast together, played a few games and got ready to head to second service at church.  We all enjoyed service and then came home and had lunch together and got a few things done, including finishing up homework for the weekend.  I worked around the house while watching the Jets lose again.  Adrian took Daniel to another classmate's birthday party where he had a great time playing mini golf at Glow Putt.

We spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning and getting stuff done around the house.  When Daniel got home, Adrian and I fed the boys dinner and then headed out to the church for a date night.  We watched the "Fight Night" workshop with a bunch of other couples from church and it was great.  We laughed, learned and ate dinner together.  It was a fun date night and I hope Adrian and I will remember some of the concepts next time we fight.  When we got home, it was late and felt even later because of the time change.  We got the boys to bed, watched one comedy and headed to bed too.  It was a productive weekend even though it wasn't the most fun one we've ever had.  Sometimes you need that.
Monday (11/5) We're all so tired and no one wanted to get up this morning - I hate the time change!!  But we managed to drag ourselves out of bed and get moving . Adrian took AJ to school and then headed to work.  I got the other boys ready and dropped them off and then had a free day so I came home and worked around the house for the day.  Later I got called in to school for an emergency sub job and I was glad I was able to help out.

After we all got home from school, I quickly got everyone thru homework and dinner and ready for a busy night.  I took AJ and Zak to Central for new to them activities.  AJ went to an informational meeting about Model UN and applied to be a member of the club.  He is very excited to participate in the club and compete in the state wide competition downtown in March.  Zak started wrestling practice for our youth wrestling program and he loved it!  We knew this would be a good fit for him.  I dropped Zak off and then went to the meeting with AJ.  Adrian picked up Zak and then dropped him & Daniel off to me and picked up AJ to go to his Scout meeting for the night.  Sometimes I'm amazed at the juggling we do!!  After all of the meetings were over for the night, we went home and had a little later night for the boys since they are off tomorrow.  When we got them to bed, Adrian and I watched the Cowboys game and then headed to bed too, excited for a little bit more sleep tonight!  
Tuesday (11/6) The boys got a day off from school for Election Day so we all slept in a little and had a more relaxing morning.  Adrian headed to work early and I got ready to head to the Harcum Center.  I took Daniel with me and taught my two morning classes, I had a sub for my afternoon class since the boys are off.  I had two great classes and then Daniel and I headed to vote.  There were no lines and we were in and out quickly.  Daniel helped me make my choices and pushed the button to submit my ballot.
After that, we ran home and had a quick lunch and picked up AJ and Zak.  The four of us headed out for the surprise that Adrian and I had planned for the afternoon.  We took the kids to the new Legoland Discovery Center at Easton and we had a blast!  We spent the afternoon riding the rides, watching two different 4D movies, building with legos and playing in the play area.  Adrian and I got tired quickly but the boys were going strong and loving it so we stuck it out.  We were there much later than we expected which caused Zak and I to miss Scouts that night but I think it was well worth it.  When we finally got the boys out, we stopped quickly at Cheryl's Cookies to pick up their free cookies and then headed home for dinner.  We had a nice relaxing dinner, finished up some homework and did our normal nighttime routine.  The boys headed to bed at their normal time since it's back to school tomorrow and Adrian and I watched a comedy before heading up as well.  Great family day!!
 
 

 
Wednesday (11/7) We were back to our normal routine today, sort of.  I am subbing at the preschool at our church today and Friday so Adrian dropped AJ off at work and then came back to help get Daniel and Zak ready and dropped off to school so I could get to work on time.  I enjoyed working at the preschool this morning, it is fun to see all of the little kids.  After I finished there, I did some grocery shopping, then headed into West to sub for one of the teachers there for a few hours at the end of the day.  It was a fairly easy day for me and I enjoyed both of my assignments.

After we all got home from school, we were all exhausted and decided to just relax for the night.  The boys played video games, finished homework and put together their souvenirs from Legoland yesterday.  I got a few things done around the house and relaxed.  We had an easy dinner of leftovers and it was an early bedtime for the boys.  Adrian went to his board game club tonight so I was on my own with the boys.  After I got them to bed, I finished up a few things and headed to bed too.  This Wednesday felt like a Monday!  I was so tired that I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow!

Thursday (11/8) After a solid night of sleep, we all woke up feeling a little better than we have all week.  We're still a little off and I'm looking forward to the weekend to hopefully rest up and reset.  Adrian took AJ to school and headed to work and I dropped the other boys off and headed to the Harcum Center to teach my classes.  We had a great time in all three classes and got a really good workout too.  My students messed with me and gave me heavier weights than I normally use.  I decided to accept their challenge and do the class with them.  I did well but I can feel that I'm a little sore.  After classes, I ran a few quick errands and then picked up all three boys from school.  AJ started Model UN today so he stays after school every Thursday for the club meetings.

After we all got home, we got quickly thru homework to get ready for our busy night.  I had a plan for dinner but Daniel begged for meatball subs and since I had everything ready to make them this weekend, I switched stuff around and made them.  After dinner, I headed to the church to teach my Zumba class.  We had a great time and I had some new people who will hopefully become regulars.  While I was at class, Adrian got the other boys ready and headed to the church for AJ's first basketball game.  He played pretty good, including making a basket at halftime to help his team out, but they lost to a very tough team.  When we all finally got home, we got the boys snacks and then got them to bed.  Adrian and I did a few things but were really tired so decided to sit down together, have a snack and watch "Survivor" before heading to bed for the night.
 

Tuesday, November 6, 2018

Keeping Up With...Food (Meal Plan for Nov 4 - Nov 10)

I'm back - Did you miss me?  I took an unplanned week off last week from both menu planning and mostly from cooking.  We kind of hit the wall over here.  Things were super busy wrapping up soccer, celebrating Halloween and keeping up with our normal life.  On top of all of that, Adrian hurt his back again so he wasn't able to help out much at all.  So as I looked at all of that we decided to just have easy meals last week and reset on our healthy eating starting last Thursday, November 1st.  We've been doing pretty good sticking to eating well but are still behind on stuff around the house which is why this post is so late.

Adrian and I decided both of us don't want to waste the last two months of the year like we usually do when it comes to our weight loss journey.  So we set up a plan to eat healthy from Nov 1-21 and then take the long weekend off for Thanksgiving.  Then get back to it from Nov 26-Dec 21 and then take a week or so off for Christmas.  I'm hoping with these built in "cheat times" we will stick to our plan better.  I will continue to try to vary what we eat each week, having one pork, beef, chicken and fish/seafood dish each week.  I will also continue to have one leftover day because we always have so many leftovers and if I'm being honest it's nice to have a day off once in a while.

This week is super busy as we start some new things for everyone.  AJ is starting Model UN at school and a new Martial Arts program.  Zak is starting wrestling.  And AJ and Adrian are going camping this weekend.  So there is a lot on our schedule but we are determined to make it work!  The boys also have today (Tuesday) off from school for election day, but not off from any of their activities.  It's often amazing to me that I can remember when/where we are all supposed to be, ha!

Here's what we're eating this week:
Sunday - Out to eat at a church event
Monday - Stuffed Peppers
Tuesday - Pulled Pork over cauliflower rice
Wednesday - Leftovers
Thursday - Italian Chicken Thighs and Veggies
Friday - Pasta - we need a quick meal for everyone to eat before AJ & Adrian head out camping and the rest of us head to wrestling
Saturday - Leftovers since it will just be me, Daniel & Zak

Water Flavor - Strawberry Orange to finish up both of those things in the fridge

Overnight Oats - I set up a bunch of oats this week since we are both back to eating them every morning.  I used mixed berry, blackberry & caramel turtle yogurt to flavor the oats this week and use up some yogurts that I had in the fridge.

Use It Up - I ended up with a lot of veggies that I needed to use up so I'm doing that this week.  I used up all of my peppers last night, will use cauliflower tonight for the rice & have broccoli that I will make as a side with the pasta to keep the calories down for me and Adrian.  Other than that I'm not really paying attention to what we have and really need to get back to focusing on this goal!

Lunches - My lunches are all over the place this week.  I have lettuce that I need to use up so there will be some salads.  I have turkey to use up so there will be some sandwiches.  And I have lots of leftovers so I may have those too.  It will be a hodge podge for sure!

Sunday, November 4, 2018

Keeping up with...Family (Weekly Wrap 10/26 - 11/1)

Friday (10/26) We survived another crazy week!!  We all got up on time this morning but Adrian's back was really bothering him so he decided to take the day off and finally go to the doctor.  He drove AJ to school so I could get myself and the other boys ready for the day.  I dropped them off at school and then headed out to do some errands, including getting my oil changed in the van.  Then I went and subbed a yoga class before heading home to pick everyone up from school.  Adrian came home from the doctor with a plan of action for his back so hopefully he will start feeling better soon.

After everyone was home, the boys had some free time to play video games before Zak and I had a quick dinner and got ready to head to his final soccer game of the season.  It was super cold and rainy at the soccer field but Zak played his best game of the season and his team won big!  Zak even scored his first goal!!  He was super excited and had a great time playing.  When the game was over, the team got their medals for the season and then we all headed home to warm up!  The boys played for a bit and then we got them down to bed for the night.  Adrian and I watched a few comedies and headed to bed as well.  It has been a very fun but very long week!
Saturday (10/27) The day started earlier than I wanted it to since I was the only one who had to get up and moving this morning.  I got up and got ready and headed out to the church to teach my Zumba class.  It was a small class this morning but we had a lot of fun!  While I was at class Adrian continued to rest his back and he helped the boys get dressed so they were ready to go when I got home.  After a quick shower and lunch, the boys and I headed to downtown Gahanna for their annual Creepside event.  Even though it was raining, we had a great time walking around getting candy, seeing a few friends and enjoying the other costumes.  By the end though we got very cold and wet so we finished up quickly and headed home to get warm!
After we finally warmed up, we reevaluated our plans for the night and decided that we have had enough of the cold, wet weather so we were going to stay home.  The boys played some video games and got some of their homework done while I worked around the house.  Then we decided to paint our pumpkins.  The boys had a great time and were super creative with their pumpkins!  After we cleaned up from that, we had dinner, played more video games and worked around the house some more.  We let the boys stay up a little bit later but eventually got them down for the night.  Then Adrian and I watched a few comedies and headed to bed too.  It was weird not having an OSU game to watch today since they have a bye.  Normally so much of our Saturday is taken up by football, today we seemed to have so much extra time, ha! 
 
Sunday (10/28) We all slept in a little today and then had a slow morning that included me making everyone chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast.  Adrian's back was still bothering him so we decided to have a laid back day.  I took the boys and went to the second service at church while he stayed home and rested.  When we came home, we got the boys thru all of their homework and chores around the house and then they played video games while we worked and watched the Jets.  Later in the afternoon, Daniel had a birthday party for one of his friend's from school so I drove him and his friend Patrick up to the party at Magic Mountain.
When I came home, Adrian left with Zak to go to Martial Arts and then I left with AJ to go to One8ty.  When we all finally got home we talked about how we all had a great night.  Daniel had a fun time playing laser tag, running around the play area, playing video games and eating cake and pizza with his friends at the party.  Zak did a great job practicing take downs at Martial Arts.  And AJ and I had fun playing games, learning about surrender & eating tacos for dinner at One8ty.  It was a great night all around!!  The boys watched a show and then headed to bed and Adrian and I finished watching the Jets game and then headed to bed too.

Monday (10/29) Back to our regular schedule today!  Adrian's back is feeling a little better so he is heading to work.  I'm hoping this is finally behind us!  He took AJ to school and then headed into work.  The other boys were up super early and played for a while at home before I took them to school.  Today kicked off Red Ribbon week for Zak and Daniel and they were supposed to wear red today and Zak really took pride in his all red outfit today.  After I dropped them off, I came home to finish up all of the stuff I didn't get to this weekend.  Later in the morning I went to Harcum to sub a chair yoga class for my friend and then made a quick stop at Meijer to pick up stuff to make dessert for my life group tonight.
When I got home, I continued working around the house until it was time to get everyone from school.  Even though it was a little cold, I walked up to pick up the boys to avoid the pick up line.  Then we got home and quickly got thru homework so we were ready for our night activities.  I took Daniel and Zak to life group with me where we enjoyed good food and even better conversations.  Adrian took AJ to Boy Scouts where they started their gun safety lessons in preparation for their upcoming camping trip.  When we all got home, the boys had a snack, watched a show and went to bed.  Adrian and I finished up a few things around the house, watched two comedies and went to bed too.  His back hurt a little after the day but hopefully keeping up with the doctor's suggestions will help less the pain.

Tuesday (10/30) We all got up and moving on time again today.  Adrian took AJ to school and then headed to work and I got the other boys ready and dropped them off at school.  Then I headed out to the Harcum and taught my three Silver Sneakers classes and ran a few errands in between classes.  When class was done, I headed into school to practice sight words with Zak's class.  It's so fun how excited they get to see me and practice their words with me.  After school, we came home and picked up AJ and headed to his med check at the pediatrician.  He's doing great, growing on track and we'll continue doing what we are doing.

After the appointment, we came home and met up with Adrian after work.  He took Daniel and they headed to Donato's for the end of season soccer party.  They had a fun time eating pizza and bread sticks and Daniel got a very nice certificate.  While they were there, I made tacos for the other boys and then got ready to head to Cub Scouts with Zak.  It was a pack meeting so we heard a little about being mayor from the mayor of Pataskala and then we had the Bobcat ceremony for the Scouts who earned that, including Zak.  All three boys now have their Bobcat but this is the first ceremony I have done.  I enjoyed hearing about it and putting the paint on Zak and even having him put some on me.  After the meeting, we headed home and got the boys ready for bed.  Then Adrian and I watched a few comedies and headed to bed too.
 
Wednesday (10/31) Happy Halloween!!  We got up and got everyone ready for school.  Adrian dropped of AJ and headed to work and I got the other boys ready, dropped them off and then headed out to run some errands.  There weren't any sub requests so I took the day to get a bunch of stuff done on my to do list.  After running a few errands, I came home and focused on stuff around the house.  The day passed quickly and before I knew it, it was time to pick everyone up.  We got our costumes on and headed out to get haircuts and our free donuts from Krispy Kreme.  Unfortunately there was a very long wait for the haircuts so we opted to postpone that and go pick up pizza for dinner and head home.

After a quick dinner, we bundled up for trick or treat.  The forecast wasn't great for tonight, but right at 6:00 the boys' friends arrived, it wasn't raining so we ran and started trick or treating.  We made it about an hour before the rain started.  AJ and their friend Zachary were done so they headed back to the house.  I stayed with Daniel, Zak and their friend David to keep trick or treating.  We made it the full two hours despite the rain and the boys were rewarded for their persistence with tons of candy from the people who were still passing it out.  We finally got home, got out of our wet clothes and rested for a bit.  I was exhausted after walking around for two hours but it was worth it to see how happy the kids were.  We got the boys down to bed and Adrian was really tired too so he went to bed early.  I stayed up and watched some TV before heading to bed too.  It was a fun but tiring day!!
Thursday (11/1) It was a bit of a struggle to get up and moving today after last night but we made it.  Adrian drove AJ to school and I got the rest of us ready and out the door.  I dropped the boys off at school and then headed to Harcum to teach my three classes.  My students were all a little off today, I guess they were also affected by the Halloween fun.  After all three classes, I headed to West to sub for a friend who just needed a quarter day and it worked out OK for me to get there a little late.  Those kids were also a little off, I know that was because of Halloween!
When school was over, we had a redo of yesterday and came home to pick up AJ and head out for haircuts.  Except today we were successful and all three boys got haircuts and look amazing!  After we were done there, we headed home and had a quick pasta dinner while also getting thru our homework.  Then we split up for another busy night.  I headed to the church to teach my Zumba class and the boys stayed home for a bit before meeting me at the church for AJ's basketball scrimmage.  He played well and had an assist in the game.  After all of that, we headed home and got the boys down for the night.  Adrian and I spent a little time pulling the house back together before watching "Survivor" and then heading to bed too.